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Nonu says Pumas deserve respect

Sportal.co.nz 08 Sep 2012 Getty Images

Ma'a Nonu won't be falling into the trap of under-rating the Argentine backs in Saturday night's Investec Rugby Championship Test at Wellington Stadium.

Back at second five-eighths after playing at centre in Conrad Smith's absence due to a detached retina, Nonu said they did have a kicking strategy, but at the same time they had a running backline which hadn't been seen in their two Tests against South Africa.

"They defended well against the South Africans. I think they've got a few moves up their sleeves to pull out on Saturday," he said.

"Sometimes if there are no holes you have got to make one really. You can't always go wide, you just have to bust it down."

Because the Pumas were a new team in the competition there was a lot of expectation that the All Blacks were going to put a lot of points on them. However, it wouldn't be easy, he said.

The All Blacks were going into the Test looking to improve in several areas but especially in the basics and individual areas where they had to try and cut down the errors and put some tries together.

He said he was excited to be switching back to second five-eighths. Getting back together with Smith at centre for the first time since the Rugby World Cup final was also exciting.

They had been a bit rusty starting out in the week of preparation but they had 'opened the book that had been closed for a long time', he said.

The fact Smith had been around the team during his rehabilitation had been helpful, especially as he helped Nonu in the build-up to the two Tests against Australia.